Briquette press



Sept. 27, 1 932. 5 JONES BRIQUETTE PRESS Filed Jan. 12. 1951 s Sheets$heet 1 WP, I,

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se zrz'l; 1932. I {JONES 1,879,293

BRIQUETTE- PRESS Filed Jan. 12. 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Hume Sept. 27, 1932. JONES 1,879,293

BRIQUETTE PRESS Filed Jan. 12, 1951 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Emmy 17. (km

Patented Sept. 27, 1932 UNITED STATES EMORY E. JONES, OF BLUEFIELI), WEST VIRGINIA, ASSIGNQR To WiE NDING GULF COLf- PATENT orFicE I menus, or BLUEFIELDQWEST vInGINiA nnreunrrn rnnss Application filed January 12, 1931. Serial No. 508,291.

This invention aims to provide a simple means whereby briquettes of uniform consistency and hardness may be manufactured in the well known Belgian press, which is used for the making of briquettes, composed, generally, of divided coal and a binder.

It is within the province of the disclosure to improve generally and to enhance the utility of devices of that type to which the invention appertains.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts and in the details of construction hereinafter described and claimed, it being understood that changes in the precise embodiment of the invention herein disclosed, may be made within the scope of what is claimed, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure 1 shows in side elevation, a device constructed in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical longitudinal section;

Figure 3 is a vertical transverse section.

In the accompanying drawings, there is shown a Belgian type briquette press, comprising two rolls 1, supported for rotation on a housing 2 through the instrumentality of shafts 3, to which the rolls are secured. One of the shafts 3 is driven by any suitablemeans 4 and the shafts are so connected by gears 5 that, when looking down on the press, each roll 1 rotates towards the other, thus carrying down between the rolls, the material to be briquetted or pressed. Pockets 6 are cut or cast along the face of each roll 1, and the gears 5 are so set that as the pockets pass the median vertical plane of the press, each pocket in one roll is exactly opposite to a pocket in the otherroll. Thus, the material is pressed into a firm mass, and the product is termed a briquette.

Referring to Figure 2, for instance, it will be seen that just above the rolls is located a hopper 7, into which the material to be briquetted is fed by any appropriate means, shown generally and conventionally in the drawings at 8. The material flows between the rolls 1 by gravity, but. the flow of the material is assisted, aswell, by'the action of the'rolls, which rotate towards each other. It is clearthat the material which-is midway between the ends of the rolls 1 will flow much more freely than at the ends of the rolls, or at the'sides of the press, this. being true, be-

cause the friction of the side walls, of the V hopper 7 retardsv the flow of thematerial,

downwardly, at the ends of the rolls 1.

When it is understoodvthat the material a point spaced from the ends of the rolls 1 than at the ends of therolls, it becomes evident that briquettes which are made at a point spaced from the ends of the rolls will be much firmer than briquettes which are made at the ends of the rolls. The result is that an inferior and variable product is turned out.

The briquettes made at a distance from theends of the rolls 1 are pressed so hard that they split, while the briquettes made at the ends of the rolls, are so soft that they are of low commercial value.

The fact that it has been found diflicult, if not actually impossible, to makev a uniform briquette on a Belgian press has, of course,

led to many methods and mechanisms, whereby a feed could be so arranged that this difficulty would be overcome- These methods which is being briquetted'fiowsinor'e freely at g i alluded to, others being practically worthless, and the two which will be discussed being of limited and questionable utility.

One of the mechanisms for the alleged purpose of securing a uniform feed in a Belgian press comprises a bar which is circular in cross section, the bar being located above the point of contact of the two rolls, the bar being vertically adjustable, in order that more or less material can be fed into the press. This adj ustment of the bar, up and down, and the regulation of the amount of the material allowed to flow to the rolls, comprisesthe entire and complete function of the so called round pressure bar. The round pressure bar has the defect that there is no compensating action for the friction of the sidewalls of the hopper on the material, and, even though the aforesaid round :bar is :used, inferiorbriquettes are turned out in the Belgian press, the briquettesmade at the ends of the rolls being too soft, and the briquettes made 1n spaced relationto the ends of the rolls being too hard; As a whole, and on the average,

the product is commercially worthless.

' Another mechanismproposed, in an effort to secure uniform feeding, comprises ahopper and a stirring mechanism within the hopper. The serious "defectin'such a structure is-that there is no compensation forthe friction of the material-upon the walls of the hopper, and, notwithstanding the fact that a reasonably perfect stirring mechanism is pro vided, the aforesaid friction persist-s, and a H uniform product does notresult.

So far as I am advised as to the state of the art, although the mechanisms above referred to, and many others, have been tried out-1n actual practice, the fact still remains-that it is extremely difiicult, and con'nnerciallyimpossible to make briquettes of uniform hardness in a Belgian-press, especially due to the factthat-the side walls of the hopper put an added frictionon the'materialv which being fed to the rolls.

In putting the present invention into practiceyand in order to obviate'the undesirable results above referred to, a thin fiat, parallel-sided plate 9 is located in the hopper 7,

immediately above the line where the rolls 1 cooperate, the plate 9 preferably being made ofmetal and being of unequal transverse dimensions, the vertical dimension of the plate being much greater than the hori- Zontal dimension of the plate. It has been found, as a matter of practice, that the material will not adhere to a plate such as the plate 9, whereas it'will adhere to a bar whichis' circular in cross section, or of an analogous cross section. As a further and specific improvement, the lower corners of theplate 9 are cut away, as shown at 10 in Figure 3, thus'allowing an extrapressure against the rolls 1- atthe ends thereof. .This "eXtra pressure compensates for the friction of the side walls of the hoppers 7' on the material, and a uniform product results.

Any suitable means may be supplied for mounting the plate 9 for vertical movement, and for adjusting it vertically. In the drawings, the ends of the plate 9 are shown as being received slidably in vertical guides 11 formed in the side walls of the hopper 7, the upper portion of the plate 9 beingbrought to an edge, as shown at 12, is desired, in order to effect a proper division of the material, as it'm'oves downwardly to the rolls 1. For the raising and lowering of the plate 9, it is suggested that links 1'1- may be pivotedat their .-lower ends ofthe upper edge of the plate 9, the upper ends of the links being pivoted-to arms 15 on a shaft 16 mounted for rocking movement in the hopper 7. The shaft 16 preferably has a worm wheel 17 on one end, the worm wheel meshing with a worm 18 on a shaft 19 journaled inibearings 2O on the'hopper 7, the shaft 19 beingsupplied with ahand wheel 21, or other means whereby rotation maybe imparted'to the shaft, at the willof an operator.

It is claimed, and'has been'demonstrated in actual practice, in the manufacture of-fuel 'briquettes'on a commercial-scale, that a flat plate, like the plate 9, with corners cutaway 1n the general manner shown M10, and vertically adjustable, will so regulate the feed,

and so compensate for side wallfrictionin the hopper, that briquettes of uniform hardness will be turned out.

Having thus described the-invention, what is claimed is: I

1.- A briquette press embodying a hous ing, approximately parallel rolls, journaled *in the housing and having cooperating, briquette-forming pockets, a hopper above and discharging upon the rolls, a single thin flat plate,of fixed thickness andof unequal transverse dimensions, the vertical trans verse dimension of the plate being appreciably greater than the horizontal transverse. di-

-mension of the plate, the plate being located in-the hopper above the line wheretherolls cooperate in making'briquettes, and'means under'the'control of an operator for adjusting the plate toward and away'from said 'line in a direction substantially at right transverse dimension ofthe plate, .and'the vplate being located in the hopper above the line where therolls cooperate in making briqu'ettes, the lower, inner corners of the plate being cut away to permit the material to have added pressure on the rolls and overcome the friction of the Walls of the hopper at the ends of the rolls.

3. In a briquette machine, the combination with co-operating pocket press rolls and a hopper for delivering the briquette material thereto, of a pressure gate in the form of a blade mounted in the plane that is substantially tangential to the contacting surface of the said press rolls.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own, I have hereto aifixed my signature.

EMORYE. JONES. 

